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Chesh (iOS)

Damian Sommer

It seems nothing is safe from the dubstep-happy clutches of remix culture, not even the ancient and tried game of chess. Damian Sommer’s new iOS game Chesh can be thought of as chess if chess was a person who went to Firefly, took MDMA, and had a “life changing experience” while listening to DEADMAU5. Like many remixes, Chesh is pretty selective about what it borrows from the original. There’s still a heavy turn-based strategy element to the board. But instead of having to memorize the rules for each piece, Chesh understands you have the attention span of a gold fish and randomizes the rules instead. On top of the rule randomization, there are over 500 unique pieces contributed by over 30 different artists. Though perhaps not as long-lasting as chess, Chesh does a fantastic job of turning a game that usually only experts can play into a game no one can become an expert in. Chesh is chess, but for the people—the people who can’t stop staring at their hands and telling everyone they’re beautiful.

Perfect for: Festival junkies, chess champions, artists

Playtime: A few hours